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History

From the powerful civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley, to the fearsome yet sophisticated society of the Vikings, the ancient world was a surprising and challenging place. Here we feature some of the most seminal and influential events and people throughout history, that have helped shape the world we know today.

Baron Samedi and his Voodoo powers over death continues to be a powerful force in the Caribbean region, especially in Haiti.
29 April, 2022 - 19:07 Khadija Tauseef

Baron Samedi And the Voodoo Loa of Haiti

Death is an inevitability that every person must face. It is the fate of all humans. However, to make death easier, each religion provides a guide that assists the transition from the human world to...
Medieval battlefield. Source: Gorodenkoff / Adobe Stock
28 April, 2022 - 22:41 Jake Leigh-Howarth

Aeons of Battle: The 5 Longest Wars in History

In the annals of humanity there is one phenomenon that has consistently weaved and threaded itself through the fabric of time. It is, of course, war, which from the very earliest times until the...
Vaccination poster image. The story of inoculation is far older than you might think. Source: bakhtiarzein / Adobe Stock
27 April, 2022 - 22:54 Lex Leigh

Just a Poke: The Origins of Inoculation

With the recent pandemic and the still-spreading Covid-19 virus, inoculation has become a hot topic throughout several areas of the world. Regardless of what side you’re on, the history of...
Pieter Bruegel's The Tower of Babel depicts a traditional Nimrod inspecting stonemasons. (1563) (Public Domain)
27 April, 2022 - 16:34 Willem McLoud

Babelse Verwarring: The Confusion Around The Tower Of Babel Finally Solved

The Tower of Babel is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. Many proposals as to the historical or literary origins of this narrative have been made over the years. A remarkably good case...
Wang Zhaojun - O Shokun by Hishida Shunso (1902) (Public Domain)
25 April, 2022 - 19:35 MartiniF

The Currency Of Chinese Princesses In Conjugal Peace Alliances

For thousands of years, the institution of marriage has been in a constant state of evolution. The established form of marriage recognized in each country, religious or social group at any given time...
The Mongol invasion of Japan. Kamikaze of 1274 and 1281. Source: Fair Use
25 April, 2022 - 14:28 Joanna Gillan

Kamikaze – The Divine Winds that Saved Japan

The Mongols attempted two major invasions of Japan during the 13th century, in 1274 and 1281 AD, led by Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan . On both occasions however, a massive typhoon (tropical...
The lion gate of The Hattusa (nejdetduzen /Adobe Stock)
22 April, 2022 - 20:16 micki pistorius

The Royal Bloodline Of The Hittite Empire

Tainted by regicide, usurped, regained, inspired by gods and goddesses and even cursed, the royal bloodline of the Bronze Age Hittites flowed through the plains of Anatolia , as the kings expanded...
Archaeologists have deciphered what could be the origins of the Latin alphabet in graffiti found at the Temple of Hathor near the Serâbît el-Khâdim mines. Serâbît el-Khâdim in the background and the evolution of the letter “A” in the foreground. Source: Einsamer Schütze / CC BY-SA 3.0 & Till Nikolaus von Heiseler / CC BY 4.0
22 April, 2022 - 19:12 Laura Tabone

From an Ox to an “A”: The Ancient Egyptian Origins of the Latin Alphabet

As crazy as it sounds, it’s now well attested that the letter “A” started out its evolution as the Egyptian hieroglyph for an ox. But its truly mind-blowing transformation came when turquoise miners...
A painting of the Antonine plague, by painter Joseph Wannenmacher, which was the beginning of the end for the western Roman Empire. Source: ChrisSchweigi / CC BY-SA 3.0
22 April, 2022 - 01:59 Jake Leigh-Howarth

The Antonine Plague and the Downfall of the Roman Empire

The Antonine plague, which happened between 165 and 180 AD, was a disastrous pandemic deemed so catastrophic that many historians have argued that it was the first major event to usher in the decline...
An agent of the Assassins (left, in white turban) fatally stabs Nizam al-Mulk, a Seljuk vizier, in 1092 AD. (14th-century AD manuscript) Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul (Public Domain)
20 April, 2022 - 13:56 ashley cowie

History Of Assassins: When Human Hunter-Killers Began Hunting Humans

For at least 200,000 years Homo sapiens were hunter-gatherer-fishers and at the end of the last Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago, they flipped from being the number one prey food on the planet to...
A statue of Eri, the mythical founding king of the Igbo people of northwestern Africa. Source: TheGuardian, Nigeria
19 April, 2022 - 18:58 Lex Leigh

Eri: Mythical King and Founder of the Igbo

The Igbo are a large ethnic group located around Nigeria with a fascinating origin story. Having lived throughout northwestern Africa for many years, the Igbo’s origins can be traced back nearly 6000...
Left: An unknown Egyptian mummy. Right: Modern equivalent of Mummy Brown pigment. Source: michal812 / Adobe Stock
19 April, 2022 - 01:55 dhwty

Mummy Brown – 16th Century Paint Made from Ground Up Mummies

Most people today would probably associate Egyptian mummies with museums. This is unsurprising, as this is probably where most of us have seen them, especially in Europe. Yet, if I were to say that...
The Thesmophoric procession by Francis Davis Millet (1894) Brigham Young University Museum of Art (Public Domain)
18 April, 2022 - 20:31 Stephen Martin

The Original Meaning Of The Mysteries Of The Ancient World

For probably over 2,000 years in antiquity, mystery rites were celebrated in many different cities stretching from parts of Europe and Africa all the way to India. There were many variations to the...
The bloodletting of a patient by a surgeon with three dismayed onlookers; represented by five faun-like demons. Source: Wellcome Images / CC BY 4.0
16 April, 2022 - 18:58 Jake Leigh-Howarth

Bleeding Your Way to Health: The Horrible History of Bloodletting

Bloodletting, or phlebotomy, is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “the surgical removal of some of a patient’s blood for therapeutic purposes.” Throughout the majority of history, this gruesome,...
Historical Chinese Gardens: Sanctuaries For The Mind And Body
15 April, 2022 - 17:22 MartiniF

Historical Chinese Gardens: Sanctuaries For The Mind And Body

In a garden, art, science, nature and the mind collide. It is no surprise then, that many stories in ancient religions and philosophies are set in gardens. Christians believe that the Garden of Eden...
Composite image of the Trung sisters. Source: warmtail / Adobe Stock
15 April, 2022 - 01:59 mrreese

Hell Hath No Fury Like the Freedom Fighting Trung Sisters

Throughout history, Vietnamese women have been instrumental in resisting foreign domination. The most well-known of these heroines are the Trung sisters, who led the first national uprising against...
Detail of illustration showing Roman soldiers killing the Anglesey Druids, as described by Tacitus. Source: Public domain
14 April, 2022 - 14:59 Jake Leigh-Howarth

The Conquest of Anglesey and the Destruction of Druidism’s Last Stronghold

With a reputation for their savagery, the destruction of the Anglesey Druids and conquest of the Welsh Isle of Anglesey by the Romans put an end to the last pagan corner of Wales in 77 AD. But was...
Composite image combining illustration of Acharya Kanad and an image of an atom. Source: astroved / CC BY-SA 4.0 & Siarhei / Adobe Stock
14 April, 2022 - 01:59 Joanna Gillan

Acharya Kanad: An Indian Sage Who Developed Atomic Theory 2,600 Years Ago

While John Dalton, an English chemist and physicist, is the man credited today with the development of atomic theory at the turn of the 19th century, a theory of atoms was actually formulated 2,500...
Diomedes Devoured by his Horses, by Gustave Moreau (1865), Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen (Public Domain)
13 April, 2022 - 19:42 Ken Jeremiah

Hotdogs, Hamburgers And Humans On The Menu For Carnivorous Horses

An article in the magazine The Horse entitled Carnivorous Horses by Dr Sue McDonnell in which she described horses killing and devouring other animals, spurred some letters to the editors from...
The Atacama Desert in Chile. Source: baisa / Adobe Stock
13 April, 2022 - 18:47 Nathan Falde

Chilean Mega-Earthquake Left Atacama Deserted for 1,000 Years

One of the most powerful earthquakes in recorded history occurred in the Pacific Ocean just off the coast of Chile approximately 3,800 years ago. This catastrophic seismic event created a massive...
The Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Material Medica) is a 16th-century collection of medical knowledge. Source: Public domain
13 April, 2022 - 01:59 dhwty

The Ben Cao Gang Mu – The Bible of Traditional Chinese Medicine

The Ben Cao Gang Mu , or Compendium Materia Medica , is an encyclopedic compendium written by the 16th-century Chinese doctor Li Shizhen. This compilation is said to be the most complete and...
Roman inflation from 90 BC onwards eventually brought the Roman Republic to its knees! The Roman Forum, the financial and political center of the city and the Republic would have been a busy place as Roman inflation began to destabilize the entire Roman world. Source: Jebulon / CC0
12 April, 2022 - 14:58 Nathan Falde

Roman Republic Experienced Deep Financial Crisis in 90 BC, Study Shows

In the early first century BC, the Roman Republic experienced a multiyear financial crisis, which we can call “Roman inflation.” But while scholars knew that some kind of breakdown in the Roman...
Reading religious book. Source: 4Max / Adobe Stock
12 April, 2022 - 01:59 Forest Bauer

Does The Iliad Deserve Reverence as Scripture Like The Bible?

Ten thousand years from now, when humanity has moved out among the stars, and an alien race discovers the Earth and explores it, can you imagine one of them coming across the Bible and reading it?...
Christopher Columbus statue in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Source: Nikolay N. Antonov / Adobe Stock
11 April, 2022 - 22:58 Sahir

First Tomb of Christopher Columbus Finally Found

He can be hailed as the heroic explorer who “discovered” the “New World” or reviled as the man who set off the process of genocide of indigenous Americans, but he can’t be denied a momentous place in...

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